Diagon Alley
by Cari2
Summary: Anabella Bell - Katie Bell's younger sister - enters her first year at Hogwarts along with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Together, they discover a mysterious puzzle that will lead them to Voldemort.


As the summer strolled by, Anabella Bell was busy counting the days until she would leave to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It would be her first year, in which she would join her twin sister, Camilla, and her older sister, Katie, who was already attending Hogwarts.  
  
Anabella was a shy, thoughtful and ambitious girl who would love to write on a dreary, London day. She wrote poems, song lyrics, and even some science fiction novels that she stashed under her bed so her identical twin would not find them and use them to her disadvantage. Unlike her twin sister, Camilla was outgoing and well liked, having many friends and always being the leader when she wanted to be.  
  
Anabella didn't talk to her twin much, but she greatly looked up towards her elder sister, Katie. Katie was a beautiful, talented girl who got high grades and made their mother happy. When Katie visited them during winter holidays, she would always show Anabella all of her textbooks and small tricks that the Weasley's had taught her. When Anabella was two years old, her father left for another woman, and left their mother, Cassandra, on her own. Cassandra never did tell them why their father left, but Anabella thought it was because her father finally found out that her mother was - a witch.  
  
When Anabella found out that she was half witch, she was astounded and felt slightly important in her own way. She had always been the outcast at their local elementary down the block, and her only friend was the boy who ate worms and bleu cheese for lunch. Camilla, on the other hand, felt taken aback, for she did not want to leave her gang in London and go to some wizarding school out in the middle of nowhere.  
  
"You will have a wonderful time there," Their mother told them when they found out earlier that summer that they would be attending Hogwarts that year, "I learned a great deal, and I even met your father there."  
  
The rain pitter-pattered on the window as their mother glanced out of it and sighed.  
  
"Mum, does this mean that I have to leave my gang? We are so close, and we made a promise to stay friends forever!" Camilla pleaded, "What should I tell them?"  
  
"Don't worry honey, you will see them on breaks and during summer vacation." Ms. Bell instructed, "You will not tell them that you are going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but instead say that you will be going to boarding school in Northern England."  
  
Camilla pouted while Anabella stared at her mother in amazement. How could Camilla be so ungrateful? Many children would probably love to go to Hogwarts to learn about Wizardry.  
  
For the next two months, both Anabella and Camilla packed and asked Katie many questions about their new school. Katie was delighted to answer them, for she had long awaited their arrival at Hogwarts.  
  
"You will love the school," Katie told them, "Every meal is wonderful, every class is exciting - except potions - and you can send an owl to mother with a message whenever you want."  
  
"An owl?" Camilla said, looking shocked.  
  
"Yes," Katie chuckled. "I guess I haven't mailed Mum too much over the past few years."  
  
As the summer was coming to an end, Anabella became more and more excited, and couldn't wait until September the first when the Hogwarts Express would depart for the school.  
  
A week before term began, their mother took Katie, Camilla and Anabella to Diagon Alley, where they bought many useful things to use at Hogwarts. As they entered the pet shop, Camilla instantly fell in love with a large, tawny cat with big blue eyes.  
  
"I love her!" Camilla screeched, causing the storekeeper to look disgruntled. "I'm going to name her Aoi, like the famous Japanese water fish!  
  
Anabella watched her sister hug the cat so tightly that it clawed her right in the arm.  
  
"I love Aoi!" Camilla told them, "She is so spunky!"  
  
Anabella rolled her eyes and said, "I wish for an animal that can keep me good company, but will not need my full attention all the time."  
  
The storekeeper went up to her and told Anabella, "We have a great selection of toads, spiders, and even owls!"  
  
At the word 'owls', Anabella rose her eyebrows and nodded gleefully. She had always wanted an owl like Katie, a smart pet that will be faithful to its owner.  
  
"May I look at your owls?" Anabella asked the manager.  
  
"Yes, you may," He said, "take a right past the toads and you will find plenty to choose from."  
  
Anabella, Katie, Camilla, Aoi and her mother walked where the manager had said, and found themselves in a room packed with magnificent owls.  
  
"Oh, there are so many to choose from!" Their mother explained, "Which one suits you best, honey?"  
  
Anabella looked carefully from bird to bird. Just as she turned the corner, another boy came in with a huge man accompanying him.  
  
"Hello," the boy said when the were passing each other. Something about him seemed rather familiar to Anabella, but she could not quite figure it out.  
  
"I'm Harry Potter," he said at last, "and you must be?"  
  
"Anabella. Anabella Bell," Anabella said quietly.  
  
"Well, Anabella," He said, "aren't these owls just spectacular? I'm getting the one up there, to the right of the black one."  
  
Anabella looked and immediately saw what he was talking about. The bird Harry was pointing at looked the colour of snow with its feathers perfectly aligned. Why hadn't she seen that one before?  
  
"Well, I better be going," Harry said at last, "Nice meeting you, Anabella."  
  
"Nice meeting you too," Anabella squeezed out.  
  
After they had left, Katie whispered into Anabella's ear, "That boy is the famous Harry Potter, have I ever told you about him?"  
  
Anabella shook her head and replied, "No, you haven't, but he seems oddly familiar."  
  
"Oh, you probably read about him in one of my textbooks," Katie smiled, "he helped defeat he-who-must-not-be-named when he was only a baby."  
  
"A miracle, really," Their mother replied, "I was surprised to see him walk in with such a large fellow!"  
"Oh, that's just Hagrid," Katie said back, "He is the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. He's very nice and generous."  
  
When Anabella found her favourite owl - dark brown with a somewhat messy coat - she was delighted and told her mother that this was the one.  
  
After they had purchased their wands and textbooks, Katie took them to the Quidditch shop to show them all of the magnificent brooms.  
  
"Someday, I will play for Gryffindor," Katie told them, "Which is my goal for when I get older."  
  
Camilla looked confused, while Anabella nodded. She knew not to ask what Quidditch was, for she would soon find out.  
  
Then they all returned home, and waited anxiously for the week to pass by.  
  
On August 31st, the night before the arrival at Hogwarts, Anabella laid in her bed and wrote a few poems in her diary. She looked up at her owl, which had no name yet.  
  
"What should I name you?" She asked him. He turned his head to look at her.  
  
"How about Dormwin?" She asked. The owl turned away looking disgruntled.  
  
"Uh, let me try again," Anabella said, "how about Lewdo?" The owl looked at her awkwardly and shook its head.  
  
"Hmm," Anabella thought, "what do you think about Harry?" At the name Harry, the owl made a happy noise and jumped toward her.  
  
"Wow! I guess you really like that name," she said surprisingly, "Harry Bell, that should do it!"  
  
So with her owl settled and her bags packed, Anabella fell asleep anxious and nervous for the next day to approach. 


End file.
